Educational Media Reviews Online

The title of this film stems from U.S. multinational companies, such as Exxon-Mobil and Google, who have avoided federal income taxes entirely, and thereby remain an untapped source of revenue for the federal government. The subsequent outrage against these practices by corporations is a driving force in this work, but the filmmakers additionally do a superb job in fully and plainly examining the processes these companies use to pay $0 in taxes. The film graphically and clearly demonstrates the uses of off -shore tax shelters, international affiliates, and transfer pricing in order to sidestep federal taxes. International and domestic tax rules are dissected, but in very plain terms.

The film makers chronicle the developments and actions of grassroots protest movements, including U.S. Uncut and the entire Occupy phenomenon. Through this film, one gains a real sense that protesting is becoming somewhat mainstream. Interviews with protesters steadily indicated that they were tired of “shouting at their TV’s” and were spurred to action.

This documentary then takes a breath, returning to a more expository tone, and delivers a brief history of the interdependence of taxation and democracy, globalization, and foreign cash flow. The film addresses the often woeful employment situations for new college graduates in the U.S., examines federally funded program cuts and state budget gaps. In a very pointed segment, the filmmakers single out politicians and show how campaign funding from multinational corporations has seemingly affected their respective actions and inactions on certain issues, such as corporate tax reform.

With the recent discussions of the fiscal cliff, this is a tremendously timely work, with easily understandable breakdowns of practices and terminology. While not lacking in fervor or passion, this film noticeably manages to avoid an alarmist temperament, while calling people to action and exhibiting the positive outcomes of such protests. In another particularly keenly constructed segment, the film makers point to analogies of social change bringing about political changes such as women’s suffrage and the end to slavery.

In a final minor note, the DVD surprisingly has no menu or chapter breaks.